ING VIEWS-JPY: BoJ a backseat driver as Fed...>

FOREX: ING VIEWS-JPY: BoJ a backseat driver as Fed enters cruise control:

The ongoing geopolitical overhang and news of another North Korean missile test

last week was met with a limited fallout in global markets; we put this down to

investors placing a high probability on a diplomatic solution being achieved. In

the absence of any additional geopolitical noise, USD/JPY will be driven by Fed

and BoJ policy meetings this week. The latter takes place on Thursday and the

status quo of a firm commitment to an ultra-loose monetary policy stance is once

again expected from Japanese policymakers. This shouldn't come as much of a

surprise to markets; with the Fed in the driving seat - and the BoJ at best a

backseat driver - we see modest downside risks to USD/JPY this week in a fairly

subdued dollar environment. Japanese press over the weekend also reporting that

PM Abe is set to call a snap election for late October. If this is confirmed, we

could see the JPY trade with a small political uncertainty premium in the

short-run. Note that Japanese markets are closed on Monday for a national

holiday